Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when her Department will asses the impact of changes to income tax and national insurance, monitored through information collected from tax receipts, as referenced in Income Tax: Maintaining the Personal Allowance and the basic rate limit for Income Tax, and equivalent National Insurance contributions thresholds until 5 April 2031, published on 26 November 2025.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC monitor the receipts of all taxes monthly through the Tax receipt and National Insurance Contributions publication.
Revenue estimates from, and individuals impacted by, maintaining thresholds are set out by the Office for Budget Responsibility in their November 2025 Economic and fiscal outlook, and the detailed forecast table of receipts:
Office for Budget Responsibility – Economic and fiscal outlook – November 2025
Office for Budget Responsibility - Economic and fiscal outlook detailed forecast tables: receipts
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the reasons for differences in the speed of implementation of the McCloud remedy across public service pension schemes; and what steps are being taken to ensure consistent and timely implementation for all affected members.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Scheme managers of the individual public service pension schemes are responsible for ensuring the effective delivery of the McCloud delivery to affected members. This is a complex and wide-ranging exercise. The amount of progress that has been made varies across schemes due to factors including the complexity of cases. I have written to scheme managers to remind them of their responsibilities to implement the remedy as quickly as possible and ensure that scheme members and the Pensions Regulator are kept informed of progress.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether officials from HM Treasury who are providing support to the pensions Ombudsman have any involvement in the investigation of complaints concerning pension schemes for which HM Treasury has policy responsibility; and what steps are taken to avoid any actual or perceived conflicts of interest.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
No officials from HM Treasury are currently seconded to The Pensions Ombudsman and therefore there is no involvement of HM Treasury officials in its casework.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help increase economic growth in Hazel Grove constituency.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
There is excellence right across the country and this government is backing it: lifting living standards and putting more money in people’s pockets. Greater Manchester Combined Authority will receive £2.5bn through the Transport for City Regions Fund and the Greater Manchester Investment Zone is expected to deliver £1.1 bn in private sector investment and 32,000 jobs.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing draft duty relief for (a) consumers, (b) pubs and (c) breweries in Hazel Grove constituency.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor’s draught rate cut at Autumn Budget 2024 applied to approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This took a penny of duty off a typical strength pint.
Draught beer and cider now pay 13.9% less in duty than their packaged equivalents – an increase of over 50% on the previous draught discount of 9.2%.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events. The Government welcomes representations from the beer and pub sectors in advance of the Budget.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of bringing most unused pension funds within the value of a person’s estate for Inheritance Tax purposes on people currently receiving pensions.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to UIN 55099.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure that banks support innovation in relation to (a) digital assets and (b) other areas.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The government recognises the transformative potential of new technologies in the financial services sector and has made innovation and technology one of the key pillars of its Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy. The government is committed to enabling and supporting increased digital adoption, as well as other new technologies, that have the potential to increase productivity and open up new products and services. The government will publish this strategy at Mansion House on the 15th July.
This is in addition to measures the government has already taken to ensure that banks support innovation, such as the commitment set out in the National Payments Vision to establish a Long-Term Regulatory Framework for Open Banking. This framework will provide the clarity and certainty needed to facilitate further innovation and investment.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to support people in switching to more affordable mortgage products.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
According to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the vast majority of borrowers switch within 6 months of the end of an introductory deal. However, the Government understands the challenges facing mortgage borrowers that struggle to switch to new loans. These borrowers are predominantly with closed book mortgage providers. Correspondence from the FCA to the Treasury Select Committee has shown that the number of borrowers with closed book mortgage providers have consistently declined since 2021.
There are significant measures in place to protect vulnerable mortgage borrowers across the mortgage market. FCA rules require lenders to engage individually with their customers who are struggling or who are worried about their payments in order to provide tailored support. Closed book lenders must also comply with the FCA’s Consumer Duty, which ensures firms prioritise fair treatment and good outcomes for their customers.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of homeowners who are unable to switch to a cheaper mortgage due to changes in the (a) lending regulations and (b) policies of their current lender.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
According to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the vast majority of borrowers switch within 6 months of the end of an introductory deal. However, the Government understands the challenges facing mortgage borrowers that struggle to switch to new loans. These borrowers are predominantly with closed book mortgage providers. Correspondence from the FCA to the Treasury Select Committee has shown that the number of borrowers with closed book mortgage providers have consistently declined since 2021.
There are significant measures in place to protect vulnerable mortgage borrowers across the mortgage market. FCA rules require lenders to engage individually with their customers who are struggling or who are worried about their payments in order to provide tailored support. Closed book lenders must also comply with the FCA’s Consumer Duty, which ensures firms prioritise fair treatment and good outcomes for their customers.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC plans to improve its (a) telephone and (b) online chat services to ensure that people can receive human assistance when digital systems fail to provide information.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Once they have submitted an A1 certificate renewal or other time-sensitive application, customers can use the “check when you can expect a reply from HMRC” tool which is available on gov.uk to confirm when they are likely to receive a response.
Customers can contact HMRC via telephony or web chat for urgent A1 applications. HMRC advisors will then decide if the case needs urgent escalation and will take it forward as appropriate. These cases relate to customers who need a certificate to work in another country.
HMRC are always seeking to improve their day to day performance including their telephony and webchat service. HMRC received extra funding last year to recruit more customer service advisers and, under the current Government, are focused on transforming services to better support taxpayers.